Лю Цысинь - Supernova Era

“This is your territory. Take care of it.”

Then she retrieved the cutout of the United States, and returned to the Chinese children. Holding it out in front of her, she said, “Look, this is our territory.”

Now the president passed the US cutout into one of Huahua’s hands, and with her other hand took hold of the China cutout. She said, “ We exchange them. ”

The Chinese interpreter stared at her in shock. “ Sorry, I beg your pardon? ”

Benes did not repeat her statement—words meant for the history books cannot be repeated. Besides, she knew that not only had the interpreter understood her, but that even Huahua, with only two semesters of English study, had also grasped that simple sentence. She simply nodded at the Chinese children, confirming the unbelievable proposition she had just made.

“What? An exchange?” they asked.

“All Chinese children will move to our territory, and all American children will move to yours,” Benes said.

“So that means our territory would belong to you?”

“That’s right. And our territory would be yours.”

“But… what about all the stuff on the territory? You can’t ship whole cities across the Pacific!”

“We’ll exchange everything in the two countries.”

“You mean, you come empty-handed, and we leave empty-handed?”

“Exactly! It’s the territorial-exchange game!”

Wide-eyed, the Chinese children looked at each other in total disbelief.

“But… that means all of your—” Huahua said.

“All of our factories,” Benes said quickly, cutting him off. “And all of our farms. All of our delicacies and entertainments. Everything in America will be yours! Of course, that means everything in China will be ours.”

The Chinese children stared at the president like she was a madwoman. Then the foreign minister cracked up laughing, and soon all of the Chinese children were laughing along with him.

“You’ve taken the joke a little too far,” Xiaomeng said.

“Your interpretation is understandable, but I can solemnly declare in my role as national leader that this suggestion is the task I have flown across the Pacific to accomplish. I do realize that it may be hard to prove it isn’t a joke, but we are willing to do whatever it takes,” Benes said with sincerity.

“How do you plan to do that?” Huahua asked.

“That will fall to Mr. Vaughn,” she said, gesturing to invite him over from behind the crowd, where he had been admiring one of the hall’s huge hanging carpets. Upon hearing the president mention his name, he slowly turned and came over and stood in the empty space on the map the United States had once occupied. He said, “To prove this ambition would be like proving the international politics equivalent of quantum mechanics or the theory of relativity. You’d need a superhuman mind and intelligence. There’s only one person here I can talk to.”

Specs had remained silent throughout all of this, but now he stood up and went over to the space on the map formerly occupied by China. Now the two young thinkers stared at each other across the Pacific Ocean.

Vaughn said impassively, “The only heroes in the world are you and me. A tremendous peal of thunder.” [7] A paraphrase of Cao Cao’s shocking statement to Liu Bei in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, chapter 21.

“You’re very familiar with Chinese culture,” Specs replied, similarly impassively.

“More familiar than you know,” Vaughn said, to the astonishment of the children. Not the words themselves, but the fact that they came not through the translator device but from Vaughn himself, speaking Mandarin Chinese.

Vaughn was unfazed by their shock. “I always wanted to learn an Eastern language, but dithered for a long time among Japanese, Sanskrit, and Mandarin before deciding.”

Specs said, “We need to be candid.”

Vaughn nodded. “Frankness is essential for proving our intentions.”

“Then proceed with your proof.”

Vaughn paused for a few seconds, and then said, “First, the new world is an abandoned child. It will never grow up; or perhaps more accurately, it’s already grown, and this is its shape.”

Specs nodded.

“Second, you have your strength, and we have ours. Each of us needs to awaken our strength.” Then he paused to give Specs time to reflect on his words.

Specs nodded again.

“The next point is critical, and one that only a superior thinker can understand. The difference in our two strengths is…” Vaughn cast a look of challenge at Specs.

“Our strength draws from our ancient native land; yours from new frontiers,” Specs said.

The two children stared long and hard at each other from their respective continents.

Vaughn asked, “Do you need further proof?”

Specs shook his head gently. Then he walked off the map and said to his companions, “They’re for real.”

“Talking with you has truly been a refreshing experience,” Vaughn said to Specs, bowing slightly from his cut-out spot on the map.

Specs returned the bow. “I have the deepest respect for your idea. Such a profound and audacious idea deserves to be called great.”

“We believe that once the game is made public, a process will be set in motion that will be difficult to redirect. If anyone here disagrees with the exchange, you may find it impossible to withstand the pressure of a country of children.”

Huahua was silent for a moment. Then he said, “Perhaps that is the case. But what about your side? I have my doubts about whether you can realize your plan. Can you convince the American children?”

With confidence, Vaughn said, “We’ve got a solution. A new world has the same attraction for American kids as it does for Chinese kids. After all, their veins flow with the blood of the pioneers. They are the most curious children in the world, and the most possessive. A reshuffling of society and the nation will be a most welcome development for them.”

Xiaomeng asked, “How long do you expect this game to last?”

Vaughn smiled, more noticeably this time. “According to my predictions, in the space of three to five years, we will be facing an undefended country and will easily be able to retake everything that we bartered away.”

The meeting to discuss the territorial-exchange game was held that night, three hours after the first Sino-US talks. On the top floor of the NIT, under the light of the Rose Nebula, the Chinese children faced a choice far beyond anything they had dreamed.

Xiaomeng said, “Look at the state of the world. We do need strong industry and defense to protect ourselves.”

“But can we get all of that simply by going to America?” Specs asked.

Pacing back and forth, Huahua said, “Why should we let Vaughn scare us? Why not think of another possibility? Once we’ve crossed the Pacific, can’t we maintain our current organization and discipline? Can’t we devote our efforts to work and study? Can’t Chinese children get those huge factories operating to produce steel and cars and aircraft carriers and spaceships? Can’t we put those huge farms to work growing wheat and corn? We can make those cities boom even more than they did in the Common Era. So long as we work hard, we’ll become the most powerful country in the world in no time! Why do we look down on ourselves? We showed such bravery and resolve in the war we just fought. Now we’re facing a new battle. So long as we put all our energy into it, there’s no obstacle we can’t overcome!”

His statement drew general praise from the children.

Xiaomeng said, “But the souls of our mothers and fathers will ask us, ‘How could you lose the land of generations of your ancestors?’ What will we tell them?”